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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24965443">Be Our Guest</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani'>Tayani</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Butlers, F/M, M/M, Maid Cafe, Silly, Zine: Maid Cafe LeBlanc - A Persona 5 Fanzine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:55:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,748</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24965443</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryuuji really, REALLY liked this one girl.</p>
<p>The problem was, she was absolutely out of his league.</p>
<p>So, when his best friend tells him she likes to frequent a butler cafe he works at, Ryuuji can see only one course of action - he'll become a butler himself and steal the girl's heart.</p>
<p>If only she didn't come with a friend (boyfriend?) this time... and if only Akira wasn't so goddamn gay at the most inappropriate times.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Okumura Haru/Sakamoto Ryuji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>220</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Be Our Guest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my piece for the wonderful Maid Cafe Leblanc Zine!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>not gonna work out well…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryuuji groaned, tugging at the collar of his shirt. Akira rolled his eyes and swatted his hand away, fixing the tie for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A tie.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And a bloody suit, and not just any old one. This was some high-class stuff, with shiny buttons, waistcoat and all. Ryuuji was grateful there wasn’t a mirror around, or he might end up puking at the sight of himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It will, as long as you shut up and follow my lead,” Akira countered, fixing some other minor detail in Ryuuji’s butler costume. Ryuuji wanted to scowl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It all started as a kind of a joke. Akira picked up a job at a butler café, and as the pay was good and customers nice, he often talked about his work. He even invited his friends to visit him there, and during one of such visits, Ryuuji had spotted </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>sitting at one of the tables. The absolute prettiest girl he had seen in his entire life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And she was a regular at Akira’s damn butler café.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Normally, Ryuuji would have just shaken the sudden attraction off and forgot about the girl. She was completely out of his league, after all. Just from Akira’s stories – since it turned out they talked quite frequently whenever she stopped by – Okumura Haru sounded like someone Ryuuji could </span>
  <em>
    <span>at best </span>
  </em>
  <span>dream of. Only… only it was kind of difficult to forget about the girl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After he had first seen her at the café, Ryuuji found he was suddenly bumping into her </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Around town, in the shops he passed by, walking down Shibuya Central Street… and every time, he was so dumbstruck he couldn’t bring himself to stutter out a word. A few weeks of that, and he already knew he was a goner. And then, after having to listen to Ryuuji’s pining for a few days in a row, Akira finally snapped and proposed a solution.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘She’s still frequenting the café’, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he said. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>I can set you guys up, my manager’s always complaining about not having enough people to cover all the shifts.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Admittedly, back then, it sounded like a brilliant idea. Almost too good to be true – Ryuuji will get to be all dolled-up and charming in front of the actual girl of his dreams. That was much better than walking into a pole every time he noticed her walking on the other side of the sidewalk. And Akira made the whole thing sound </span>
  <em>
    <span>so easy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>It’ll be fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>,’ he said. Ryuuji believed him then. Now, he wasn’t so sure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, the costume was alright. Ryuuji hated formal clothes, but he was at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>aware </span>
  </em>
  <span>he’ll need to wear the damn thing. The problem was the whole rest of the job description Akira conveniently forgot to mention up until now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>not calling any weirdo coming here </span>
  <em>
    <span>mistress</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Akira. No effin’ way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akira stared at him, one eyebrow quirked up in amusement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>butler café</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Ryuuji. They’re expecting that,” he said, trying hard not to laugh. Ryuuji scowled at him, only to have Akira poke him in the forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No glaring at the customers, either.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glaring at </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>! You totally screwed me over here, right? I’ll just make an idiot out of myse—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you’re not,” Akira shook his head, patting Ryuuji’s shoulder. “I’ll be there the whole time. Look… Haru should be coming in any moment now, okay? I’ll invite her to the table and tell her you’re in training, which, technically correct. All you’ll need to do is bring her food and look pretty. Sounds good?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryuuji wanted to say that, no, it didn’t sound good at all, but… well, he had gotten this far. And Akira did seem really genuine about wanting to help. Hell, he even let Ryuuji come in for a shift when the café was almost empty. He just didn’t think he could quite make it as a freakin’ butler of all things; but, perhaps, with Akira there…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“…oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Akira whispered beside him. He was standing there, staring at the door, his mouth hanging open. Ryuuji hazarded a look there as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two new customers walked in, laughing, mid-conversation. One of them was Haru. She was smiling happily, the kind of smile that made Ryuuji feel like his stomach has suddenly been filled with butterflies. The other was a guy – and a familiar one at that. Ryuuji wondered where had he seen that face before, and realized it was on TV. He was staring at the celebrity Detective Prince, Akechi Goro in person, and what’s more, beside him, Akira was obviously drooling at the sight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Great</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Just his luck. The once-in-a-lifetime chance for him to speak to Okumura Haru in person and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had to </span>
  </em>
  <span>be on a date with another guy. And with a guy that was obviously way higher up the ladder than Ryuuji was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Before he could react, or at least attempt to slip to the back before they noticed him, Akira was already acting, however. He grabbed some menus, thrust one into Ryuuji’s arms and walked towards the couple. All that remained for Ryuuji was to follow dumbly, trying not to trip over his legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome to our humble café, dear guests,” Akira said with flair, even giving a slight bow. Ryuuji frowned, staring at his friend. If someone didn’t know him, Akira’s voice might have sounded perfectly confident. However, Ryuuji knew this was how Akira was speaking when shy or nervous. There was that slightly lower note in his tone, making his voice a little more hoarse than usual. Neither Haru nor Akechi seemed to notice that, though. Haru actually giggled, looking up at them, and all of a sudden, Ryuuji’s thought process seemed to freeze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Akira-kun! I’m so glad we came on time for your shift, I was just telling Goro-kun about you–”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>First name basis, huh. Fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The pleasure’s all mine,” Akira said breathlessly, looking straight at Akechi. Haru smiled knowingly, and then looked at Ryuuji. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And your friend is–”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“S-Sakamoto Ryuuji,” he managed to stutter out, clearing his throat. Haru beamed at him, before turning to Akira again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well then… is there perhaps a table available…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“R-Right, I–” Akira said, his ears growing pink as Akechi smirked at him in an equally knowing way. “We… We have only single tables left today!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all stared at him, including Ryuuji. Akira went completely red. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What I meant to say…” he cleared his throat, sounding more confident now. “I’m sorry, but today, we have only single tables available. We’re quite busy at the moment.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryuuji tried not to look like this was the biggest bullshit his friend has come up with so far. Akechi lifted his eyebrow, looking pointedly behind Akira, at the empty cafe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that so,” he said in a smooth voice. Akira looked up at him, holding his gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes… </span>
  <em>
    <span>master</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said, with a completely straight face, and Ryuuji was amazed to see Akechi blink and flush in response to that. Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>made Akira regain even more confidence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Due to the unforeseen nature of the circumstance, we can offer you two single tables for the same price, and two butlers to attend you. I’ll gladly… </span>
  <em>
    <span>take care</span>
  </em>
  <span>… of you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>master</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he purred the last word, making Akechi’s cheeks grow even redder. “While my friend here will attend you, Haru-san. Is that alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, what?!” Ryuuji gasped, only to stare as Akira winked unconcernedly and escorted the blushing Detective Prince to one of the tables, leaving Ryuuji alone with Haru.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>God fucking damn it. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Once they’re out of here, he’s going to kick Akira’s gay ass </span>
  <em>
    <span>so hard</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryuuji stared at Haru, who smiled at him uncertainly. Shit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh… just… come with me, okay?” he said, feeling his ears burn. He led the girl to one of the tables. Once she sat down, he remembered the menu card Akira thrust into his hands and handed it to her. He ended up standing there as Haru opened the menu, thanking him with a warm smile. Seconds ticked away in awkward silence until finally, he saw Haru peer up at him from over the menu, her (</span>
  <em>
    <span>pretty, so pretty</span>
  </em>
  <span>) eyes twinkling with something that might have been amusement. Ryuuji swallowed thickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um… forgive me for asking, but…” she started, and then giggled when he almost jumped at being spoken to. “You’re not… you’ve started here only recently, haven’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryuuji felt his whole face grow red now, not only his ears. He looked away in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh… yeah, kinda. Sorry ‘bout that. I just wanted to—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I just wanted to get to talk with you, ‘cause you’re really damn pretty</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Yeah, as if he could say something like that. Instead, he opted for...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know it shows. I’ll… look, I’m sorry. I’ll go get Akira’s ass in gear and ask him to wait on you, I’ll—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I—” Haru interrupted and then flushed as well. Ryuuji was left standing there, his mouth open, wondering at how she was even more beautiful all flushed and shy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, he was so done for</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Haru cleared her throat, looking away with a shy smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I only asked…” she started, chancing a look up at him. “Because, well… If you were perhaps going to get regular shifts, I… Um… I’d quite like to know the hours you’ll be working on? So that… we could, perhaps… meet again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somewhere behind them, Ryuuji could hear Akira and Akechi talk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So… are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>giving your guests such special treatment whenever your cafe’s… </span>
  <em>
    <span>busy</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Akechi said, in a voice much more assured than before. Ryuuji could hear Akira’s embarrassment as he replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...no. Just… just you. Look, uh… if you’d rather–”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m not at all complaining,” Akechi laughed. “I’m quite enjoying myself, in fact. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>quite eager to serve me, after all…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryuuji cleared his throat, if only in order to drown out the other guy’s voice. He beamed at Haru.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll tell ya the hours, no problem, as soon as I get ‘em. Today’s my first day on the job, see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Haru nodded, giggling quietly to herself. As she placed her order, sneaking in little questions about Ryuuji, what he did apart from his current job and what he enjoyed doing in his free time, the blond thought that, hell, maybe Akira was right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It really did sound like it was gonna be okay.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you like my stories and would like updates on my writing process/life/current obsessions, you can find me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/mikan_writings">@mikan_writings</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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